USA TODAY Sports
RIO DE JANEIRO — Michael Phelps has long admired a certain player who’s synonymous with the No. 23: Michael Jordan.
Now, he’s got his own 23 to match — 23 gold medals to his name. As he celebrated the last one with medley relay teammates Nathan Adrian, Ryan Murphy and Cody Miller, he realized the significance.
“Michael Jordan has been an inspiration to me throughout my whole career,” Phelps said. “What he did to the sport of basketball is what I’ve always wanted to do in the sport of swimming.